Bertie William Bluett

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Lieutenant-Commander Bertie William Bluett (26 April, 1883 – 1 November, 1914) served in the Royal Navy.

Life & Career

The son of retired Colonel C. E. L. Bluett was born in Jersey. Though he passed from Britannia with four months' time, his "fair" conduct meant that quarterly reports were to be immediately required of him as he entered his first appointment, in Repulse of the Channel Squadron. Captain Groome reported that Bluett seemed to be doing well, and reports were suspended when he left Repulse for Isis.

Bluett was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 30 June, 1904.[1]

He would serve in the famous battleship H.M.S. Dreadnought fbetween September 1906 and November of 1908 before undertaking a string of command appointments in destroyers and torpedo boats.

In 1911, he was thought to have travelled from Glasgow to Troon by rail without paying. He later remitted the funds, but his explanation of the incident was considered inadequate.

Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander on 30 June, 1912, Bluett was relieved of command of Usk by the Commander-in-Chief, China on 21 October, 1912 following some dishonoured cheques and absences ashore when bad weather loomed. He was informed that serious consequences would follow any subsequent misconduct and he was appointed to join the armoured cruiser Monmouth. This punitive appointment would prove to be long, and ultimately deadly, as Bluett was among those killed when Monmouth was lost at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, 1914.

See Also

Naval Appointments
Preceded by
Reginald Gregory
Captain of H.M. T.B. 57
3 Jan, 1905[2][3] – 25 Sep, 1906
Succeeded by
Edward W. MacKichan
Preceded by
James C. Holmes
Captain of H.M.S. Daring
30 Nov, 1908 – c. 18 Mar, 1909
Succeeded by
Hugh Hamilton-Gordon
Preceded by
?
Captain of H.M. T.B. 32
18 Mar, 1909[4] – 10 Sep, 1910
Succeeded by
Hamilton C. Allen
Preceded by
Hamilton C. Allen
Captain of H.M.S. Locust
10 Sep, 1910[5] – 11 Jul, 1911
Succeeded by
Clement R. Dane
Preceded by
Arthur F. Crutchley
Captain of H.M.S. Leopard
11 Jul, 1911 – 19 Sep, 1911
Succeeded by
Geoffrey T. Wright
Preceded by
Theodore E. J. Bigg
Captain of H.M.S. Usk
19 Sep, 1911[6] – 21 Oct, 1912
Succeeded by
Wellwood G. C. Maxwell

Footnotes

  1. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 8.
  2. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Saturday, December 24, 1904, Issue 37586, p.4.
  3. The Navy List. (June, 1906). p. 400.
  4. The Navy List. (January, 1910). p. 401a.
  5. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 341.
  6. The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 388.